Entrepreneurialism among women has meant that inheritance and divorce are no longer the main circumstances behind women’s personal wealth, a new report has shown.
Increasing numbers of women entrepreneurs are contributing to a growing rate of female millionaires, according to research by Barclays Wealth Management.
This year, the combined wealth of Britain’s 100 richest women is more than £33bn and the report estimates that by 2020, 53% of millionaires will be women.
However, despite the increasing number of women setting up their own businesses, the report said ‘the glass ceiling persists’ and an equal number of women and men on company boards is still some way off.
“Female leaders in conventional employment are all too often set up to fail,” said Diana Robertson, spokesperson for Business Link London.
“Now, ambitious women that want to get to the top are proving their business acumen by running their own companies rather than struggling to break the glass ceiling of corporate life.”
The findings come despite recent research from Catalyst which found companies with the highest female representation on their senior management teams had a 34% higher return on their equity than those with the lowest female reorientation.
Robertson added: “The fact is, we'd have 100,000 more businesses in the country if as many women as men started their own business so the UK needs women's business acumen and skills.”
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